Clermont Auvergne lock Nathan Hines has been hit with a six-week ban after being found guilty of stampong on Scarlets wing Morgan Stoddart during their Heineken Cup clash last weekend.

Hines, who appeared before independent judicial officer Simon Thomas at a hearing in Dublin on Thursday, pleaded not guilty to the offence. But in a statement, European Rugby Cup said Thomas upheld the citing complaint and found that Hines had "stamped on his opponent and had connected on more than one occasion".

Thomas decided the offence warranted a mid-range entry point of a five-week suspension, but he added a week due to 35-year-old Hines' poor disciplinary record.

He will miss Clermont's Heineken Cup trip to Exeter on Saturday, and cannot play again until November 26, although he will be available for Clermont's crunch Pool Five clashes against holders Leinster in December.